Set in the gritty concrete jungle of New York City, Bob Giraldi’s Dinner Rush is a riveting and revealing story of the various lives of the people anchored to this one Italian restaurant, Gigino. Within the movie, there is an observed power dynamic between the different roles in the restaurant as described in the readings by Prole and Fine. The atmosphere is portrayed as chaotic and sometimes violent, amidst the joyful cacophony of unknowing customers. The movie also appropriately conveys the real lives of those who work in the restaurant and allow it to operate each day.
From the first scenes of the movie there is an obvious power struggle between Udo “King” Cropa and his father, Louis Cropa, the owner of the restaurant. In the film, as Udo’s star presence as an elite cook begins to grow, his father’s role as owner and more importantly as a paternal figure begins to wane. Furthermore, it was Udo’s decision to stray away from the traditional Italian cuisine, this displeases his father and as a result he seeks Duncan, another chef, to cook him the meals he desires. The hierarchy and power struggle between Udo and his father is one that mirrors itself in the other characters throughout the film. As highlighted in Prole’s description of the organization and division of labor in a restaurant, the role of the individual in the establishment also determines their rank. This can thus lead to conflicts of power when there are competing individuals in the same rank vying for the same position. This competition is seen through the servers, who although are ranked equally, still compete with each other for more tables even if there was the potential to be completely overwhelmed. Ultimately, the strive for power and mobility is a universal desire by all those who work in the restaurant industry.
In having a glimpse into the real lives of the workers in the restaurant, the film also allows the audience to make their own conjectures about the people in the restaurant industry. Although not overt, the true personalities of the servers became apparent through their interactions with the customers. Notably, when the waitress remarked that the paintings in the restaurant were done by her, another when the bartender was able to answer every trivia question given to him by those at the bar, as well the shocking revelation of the wall street banker’s dual identity as a hit-man. These instances gave a real face to these characters in that, workers in the restaurant industry have real lives behind their uniforms. They are real people who face real struggles, and are not necessarily poor or un-educated, and get through life by simply earning a meaningless wage. Therefore, they should not be assumed as previously stated, as they do suffer through the drudgery of the work that they are indoctrinated into and that makes them appear un-human.
Although Dinner Rush is not a warm-felt movie, surely it allows one to gain a glimpse into the cutthroat restaurant industry that survives on an array of diverse people.

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